A long document arrives and someone would like it back quickly. What actually matters inside it.
Master Builders or HIA contract in QLD — let me answer that one plainly. The brand of contract matters far less than what's typed into it. Both are established Queensland forms, so is the standard one most architects use, and any of them is a reasonable starting point.
What decides how the next stretch of your life feels is the schedules: the contract sum, the documents listed and their revisions, the dates, and the payment stages. A good form filled in carelessly is worse than a plain one filled in properly. That's the part I go through with you.
There's usually pressure to sign quickly so a builder can hold a slot, and that's not unreasonable. It's also fine to say you'll have it back once it's been read properly. This is where we settle whether I stay on through construction, too.
The brand of contract barely matters. What's typed into the schedules decides everything.
This step produces a signed contract you understand — the right form, the correct sum, every drawing listed by number and revision, and the payment stages tied to completed work. Projects hold surprises, and a good contract handles them fairly from both sides.
This is one of the largest things you'll ever sign, and it should feel significant. What it shouldn't feel is rushed or lonely. You go into it having had every clause that affects you explained in ordinary language.
On your own the contract usually arrives complete and gets signed as presented. Plenty of people do that and it goes perfectly well. What's harder is knowing which blanks came from the tender you accepted, and which from memory.
I advise on the right contract type, prepare the contract documents, and check that the schedules match what you actually agreed — the sum, the drawings and their revisions, the payment stages, the allowances. Then I go through it with you in plain language. What I'm not doing is giving you legal advice, and I'll say so clearly. If the job is large, or a builder has proposed changes to a standard form, a conversation with a construction solicitor before you sign is money well spent.
Both are established Queensland domestic forms, and the argument about which is better is mostly a distraction. Builders tend to prefer whichever association they belong to, and that's fine by me. What determines your position is the annexures — which drawings are listed and at which revision, and how variations get priced. I read those and talk you through them.
The builder takes the cover out and pays the premium before work starts. The cost sits inside the contract price, so it reaches you either way. Ask for a copy of the certificate — I'll make sure it arrives. The QBCC publishes clear guidance on what the scheme covers.
Honestly, most of the checking is mine — the sum against the tender you accepted, every drawing listed by number and revision, the payment stages, the dates, and the allowances most likely to shift. What's genuinely yours to check is whether the house being described is still the one you want.
For domestic building work, a variation is meant to be agreed in writing before the varied work starts, setting out what's changing and what it does to the price. That's how good builders prefer to work anyway. If something gets agreed on site, it simply needs writing down before it's built. The QBCC publishes clear guidance if you'd like the detail.
I can advise on which contract type suits the project, prepare the contract documents, and administer the contract once it's signed. What I'm not is your solicitor. If the job is large, or a builder has proposed changes to a standard form, have a conversation with a construction solicitor before you sign. I'd rather you did.
If you would rather start small, the First Sketch Session is two hours at your place. You keep the sketches, and there is no obligation afterwards.
